Privacy Policy

International Olympic Committee - Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy, as updated from time to time, explains what information about you is collected and how it is processed when you use digital services such as websites, newsletters, registration systems, or online resources offered on the www.olympic.org website and other digital properties operated by the International Olympic Committee (the “IOC”) and the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage (the “Foundation”) (collectively the “Services”).

When you use the Services, information about you will be collected and processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy by the IOC. When the Services relate to the Olympic Museum (in particular https://www.olympic.org/museum, http://shop.olympic.org/en) or the Olympic Studies Centre https://www.olympic.org/olympic-studies-centre; https://library.olympic.org/) and other activities of the Foundation, your information will be processed by the IOC and the Foundation. When we refer to ‘’we’’, ‘’our’’ or “us”, we are referring to the IOC and, where appropriate, to the IOC and the Foundation, each of them acting as an independent data controller. When we refer to “you” or “your” we refer to you as a user of the Services.

Specific rules and additional terms may apply due to the nature and purpose of certain of our Services. This is for instance the case of certain systems for event registration or reporting mechanisms managed by the IOC. In such cases, these specific terms will be brought to your attention before you use the relevant Services and will prevail over the terms of this Privacy Policy in case of any inconsistency.

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

1. Information that you provide to us

You may provide us with information, including personally identifiable information, when you register on the Services, create a user account, communicate with us, complete certain transactions or subscribe to Services such as event registration, professional online resources, or media alerts.

a) Account data

If you create a user account, we will ask you to provide us with your first name, last name, email address, age information, login information, and password. To access certain business resources, we may ask you to provide additional information such as your business organisation, job title, physical address, phone number and nationality. Certain Services, like Athlete 365 (https://www.olympic.org/athlete365/) are focused on athletes and we may ask you to provide information about the sports you practice, your team or your participation in the Olympic Games. This information will allow us to create and maintain your user account, identify you as one of our registered users and, if you have opted-in or can lawfully receive such communications, to send you promotional communications about the IOC and the Olympic Movement’s activities. We may also invite you to provide us with additional information in particular by indicating your interest in certain athletes, teams, sports or events, so that we can personalise your use of the Services.

b) Data necessary to provide certain Services

Certain Services may allow you to apply for registration or accreditation to the Olympic Games or other events organised by the IOC, or book travel and accommodation related to these events. Other Services may give you access to specific business resources made available by the IOC to other Olympic Movement stakeholders. In such cases, we will inform you of any additional information needed to provide to you the Services that you have requested and of the other conditions applicable to the processing of your personal information for the provisions of such Services.

c) Communications data

If you communicate with us and/or request any Service from us, we will use your account information and any other information you may provide us to answer your queries.

2. Information that is collected automatically when you use the Services:

Our website and digital properties use cookies to distinguish you as a user, either for the duration of your visit (“session cookie”) or when you return (“persistent cookie”). Cookies are small files stored on your browser or the hard drive of your computer that are used to gather information regarding interactions with our website and other digital properties such as browser type, operating systems, IP address, device type, location, date and time of access.  These cookies are placed on your device by us (“first party cookies”) or by third parties providing certain services to us such as analytics and advertising (“third party cookies”).

We use different types of cookies, including:

- Strictly necessary cookies that enable you to navigate on our website and other digital properties or provide certain basic features such as storing user names and passwords so that you don't have to log in at each session;

- Functionality cookies that enhance the functionality of our website and other digital properties by storing your preferences;

- Performance cookies that improve the performance of our website and other digital properties and provide you with a better user experience; and

- Behavioural advertising cookies that tailor advertising served to you on our website and other digital properties based on your browsing activity and the location from which you access our website and other digital properties.

We use first party cookies to enable users to remain signed in.

These are examples of third party cookies we use:

- Olympic Channel to enable the delivery of Olympic Channel video content on our websites and other digital properties;

- Google Analytics, to be able to measure traffic and performance of the service;

- Google (Double Click for Publishers), to be able to provide advertising of products or services that reflect your use of the service;

- AddThis social sharing widget, to enable you to share content with a range of networking and sharing platforms and for us to be able to see how often content has been shared;

- Facebook – to be able to provide advertising of products or services that reflect your use of the service;

By using the Services, you accept the use of these cookies. You may turn off cookies or changing your preferences by changing your browser settings. More information is available here:  

- Internet Explorer users: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/internet-explorer/delete-manage-cookies

- Mozilla Firefox users: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored

- Google Chrome users: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en    

- Safari users: http://help.apple.com/safari/mac/8.0/#/sfri11471  

3. Information that you have made publicly available

The Services are provided for information and entertainment purposes and the content offered on our website and digital properties may include publicly available information about Olympians, athletes and other persons who are newsworthy and whose stories contribute to the mission of the IOC.

HOW DO WE USE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT?

We use the information we collect about you and your use of the Services to:

a) facilitate your use of the Services, enable your registration and authentication, and manage your user account;

b) maintain and develop the Services;

c) gather statistics to help diagnose problems, enhance your experience of the Services and improve the quality of the Services;

d) ensure the security of the Services and that the Services are used in compliance with the Terms of Service of the Olympic.org website and any additional terms applicable to our different Services (together, the “Terms of Service”) and applicable laws;

e) offer you a personalized experience of the Services, for instance by suggesting to you content based on preferences you have indicated and previous choice of content, and deliver relevant advertising to you;

f) provide to you Services, information and content that you have requested;

g) communicate with you, including by answering your requests, sending you communications related to your user account and our Terms of Service and, if you have opted-in to this service or qualify for it according to the law, send you marketing communications (including by email and other electronic channels) about the Services, our activities and the activities of the Olympic Movement and its partners, while offering you the possibility to opt-out from such marketing communications at any time; and

h) show and measure advertisements, on the Services and, on third party services like Google, Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. If you own an account both on the Service and on these third-party services, we may, by sharing information with these companies, identify you as user of these third-party services and serve you our advertisements on such services.

Uses contained in paragraphs (a) to (h) above reflect processing grounds necessary for the performance of our contractual relationship with you. Uses contained in paragraphs (g) and (h) reflect processing grounds necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controllers or by certain third parties, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child. Paragraphs (a) and (g) may also reflect processing grounds necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject. See below the section on Legal Basis for Processing to find additional information, in particular regarding consent.

WHO DO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH?

1. Information you decide to make public

Through functionalities of the Services, we may allow you to make certain information available to other users of the Services. You decide what information you want to make public.

2. The IOC, the Foundation and our affiliates

The Services are provided by the IOC and, where they concern the activities of the Foundation, by the IOC and the Foundation each acting as an independent data controller. We are also assisted by our affiliates (namely Olympic Channel Services SA, IOC Television & Marketing Services SA, Olympic Broadcasting Services SA, all based in Lausanne, or Olympic Broadcasting Services S.L. and Olympic Channel Services S.L. based in Madrid) who provide services to the IOC and help us deliver the Services to you. We sometimes share your personal information among us and with our affiliates, where necessary for the purposes and legal basis for processing highlighted in this Privacy Policy.

3. Our vendors and service providers

We rely on a network of professional vendors and service providers who are working on our behalf and help us operate, develop, secure, promote and measure the Services and our advertisements. Services provided by these partners include:

a) infrastructure and general IT services

b) platform development services

c) hosting services

d) customer relationship management and other communication services

e) analytics and measurement services

f) email communications and push notification services

g) third party web and social media services on which we serve our advertisements.

We may share information you provide through the Services with these companies where necessary for them to provide to us their services and for the purposes and legal basis for processing highlighted in this Privacy Policy. These service providers are bound to strict confidentiality obligations under our agreements, ensuring the respect of this Privacy Policy.

4. Events-related services and other services

If you use the Services to request certain services from us, for instance to apply for registration or accreditation to attend the Olympic Games or other events organised by the IOC, or for booking travel and accommodation in relation to these events, the provision of the services requested by you may require us to share your personal information with third parties (e.g. travel or accommodation providers, organising committees, or governmental agencies). Other services that you may request from us may also require that we share your information with third parties assisting us in the delivery of such services, such as Olympic Movement entities (such as international federations, national Olympic committees or organising committees), academic institutions, or other delivery partners. We will specify in the relevant Terms of Service the categories of third parties with whom your personal information may have to be shared and other conditions applicable to such sharing of information in relation to the Services requested.

5. Offers from our partners

From time to time, we may offer you the possibility to receive communications (including communications related to products and services) from selected third parties, such as our commercial partners and members of the Olympic Movement. In case you opt-in or can lawfully receive such communications, we may share your information with the relevant third parties, while giving you the possibility to opt-out at any time.    

6. Legal disclosure

We reserve the right to disclose personal information we hold about you if we are required to do so under applicable laws or pursuant to any judicial or administrative process, and to the extent necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding unlawful activities, or violation of our Terms of Service under the legal basis described in this Privacy Policy.

HOW DO WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

1. Data security

We use technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against the risks of damage, destruction, loss or unauthorised access, in accordance with applicable laws.

2. International transfer

While the information we collect will usually be processed in the European Union or in Switzerland, we may also transfer your information for the purposes and legal basis for processing highlighted in this Privacy Policy to the above-mentioned recipients (see above “WHO DO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH?”), some of which may be based in countries that, like the United States of America, do not provide in their laws for a level of protection of your privacy equivalent to the one applied within the European Union and Switzerland. This will happen when some the companies helping us operate the Services (see above “Our service providers”) access your information from countries located outside Europe. Before transferring data from Switzerland or the European Union to the United States and other countries, we implement safeguard mechanisms recognized by Swiss and European regulators such as standard contractual clauses, or seek your express consent.

3. Age limitation

The Services are intended for users who are 13 years old (or older) and we will not knowingly collect personal information about users below that age. If you are aged 13 to 15 years old, you can only use the Services with the prior authorisation from a parent or guardian. 

If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental or guardian consent, we will take steps to delete this information and close the child’s account. If you become aware that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us.

4. Data retention

We will retain your information only for the duration necessary for the purposes identified in this Privacy Policy or as required to meet our legal requirements.

LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR DATA AND YOUR RIGHTS

We mainly process your information to perform our obligations under our Terms of Service but in certain cases, we also rely on other justifications.

1. Contractual necessity

Contractual necessity applies for all users who are of age to enter into a contract by accepting our Terms of Service and justifies the following uses of user personal information:

a) Providing the Services and personalizing your experience of the Services by customizing certain features based on your interests

b) Managing registration and user account

c) Securing and developing the Services

d) Communicating with you in relation to the Services

e) Sharing data with our partners who may offer you their services

f) Transferring, storing or process your data outside Switzerland or the European Union, including within the United States and other countries

g) Providing you services or information which you have requested

In these cases, you have the right the right to port your data.

2. Consent

We may also process certain data based on your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time, for the following activities:

a) Send you certain marketing communications

In these cases, you have the right to port your data and to withdraw your consent.

3. Legitimate interests

We also rely on our legitimate interests, especially for our users who may not be of age to enter into a contract, to provide a secure and efficient Services that are consistent with our Terms of Service so that our visitors, partners and fans may receive high quality Services and may enjoy Olympic-related content corresponding to their interests. Legitimate interests constitute a basis for the following activities:

a) Making available through the Services publicly available information related to the Olympic Games, Olympians and other athletes, sports and news stories

b) Providing the Services and personalizing your experience of the Services by customizing certain features based on your interests

c) Managing registration and user accounts

d) Securing and developing the Services

e) Communicating with you in relation to the Services

f) Transferring, storing or processing your data outside Switzerland or the European Union, including to or within the United States and other countries

g) Sending you marketing communications, including via emails, if you have opted-in or can lawfully receive such communications

h) Sharing data with our partners who may offer you their services

i) Sharing your information with third parties including law enforcement authorities where we suspect an unlawful activity.

In these cases, you have the right to object to the processing of your information or ask us to restrict such processing.

4. Compliance with our legal obligations

We may also invoke our legal obligations as a valid ground for sharing your information with judiciary or law enforcement authorities, if we are ever obliged to do so.

In such case, you have the right to object to the processing of your information or ask us to restrict such processing.

HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS

1. User account parameters

To withdraw your consent, access or rectify your personal information, you can use the you can use the Settings functionality to adjust the parameters of your user account

2. Unsubscribe from our marketing communications

To unsubscribe from marketing communications, you can adjust your settings in your user account or click on the link displayed at the bottom of any of our marketing communications

3. Contact us

To object to the processing of your information or the information of your child, or request a restriction of such processing, to withdraw your consent or to request access, deletion or correction of any erroneous or incomplete data, to  exercise your data portability right or for any question related to this Privacy Policy, you can contact us.

4. Data Protection Officer

You can contact our privacy officer at the following address

Data Protection Officer

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

When we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we will do our best to inform you in advance of such change, for example by posting a notice on the Services or by sending you an email communication, so you can review our revised policy and decide whether to continue to use the Services or not.  Your continued use of the Services after the entry into force of the revised Privacy Policy will constitute your confirmation of your reading and understanding of such changes. We encourage you to review our Privacy Policy regularly.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 25 May 2018

International Olympic Committee, Château de Vidy, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland,

Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, Quai d’Ouchy 1, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland